I won't make this entry too long as my service on the Verizon card is about the same as our phone service through AT&T. The service comes and goes with no particular rhyme or reason.
This morning we checked out of Dockweiler's and drove through Santa Monica then cut over to Highway 1, the Pacific Coast Highway. It was wet when we got up this morning with a little drizzle. I had put everything away the night before since the forecast was for some rain showers during the day. Still we had to do the chores of filling the fresh water tank, dumping both the black and grey water tanks, bringing the slide in, and hooking up the Wrangler to be towed to our next location , which is Thornehill Broom beach about 20 miles north of Malibu on the coast.
We left about 10:30am as we had a short drive of less than 2 hours which would put us there around noon. We gassed up in Santa Monica and grabbed some McDonald's burgers at the combination McDonald's/Chevron station. Gas was $1.83 a gallon, a far cry from the $4.34 per gallon we paid on our trip through Montana in August. It was almost a pleasure to fill the tank!
The actual rain had stopped before we left and it was just cool and overcast for the drive. We never did have to use the windshield wipers. The drive itself is very nice as you drive along the water the whole trip and pass though the Malibu community, including Pepperdine University, the Malibu Colony, Zuma Beach, Broad Beach, etc. It would have made a nice drive just for the scenery and made the trip seem very quick.
Thornehill Broom is one of the campsites at Point Mugu State Park. It runs along the beach north and south and you have sites that put you and your neighbors head to tail rather than side by side which is much more private. The best area is the extreme south end of the park with the sites numbered from one on up. Sites 1-4 were already taken. You can reserve a spot ahead of time but you are only guaranteed a site and first come first served is the order of the day. We signed up for a spot for Mark and Carol as well and put our Jeep in that spot. We are in #8 and they are in #9.
Shorty after we pulled in and got set up the brisk wind we arrived in blew all the clouds off and it became sunny and clear the rest of the day. We sat outside in the front of the rig, which blocked the wind almost completely, and had coffee with Baileys Irish Cream. I might mention that as with most of California state parks you are dry camping. No electric hookups, no fresh water hookups, and no sewer hookups. You have to manage your resources a little when you stay for the ten days we are here for. We have a generator, solar panels, and a 2000 watt inverter for power, propane furnace, stove, hot water heater so our main concern will be filling the grey water tank and emptying the fresh water tank. If we need to we can run down the highway about three miles to Sycamore Cove which has a dump site and water you can refill from. Still you have to put everything away, bring in the slide, pull the hydraulic jacks, etc. so you try and ration to avoid making that run too often. After our first season down here we learned that our favorite locations were the state parks so with that in mind we added two more batteries (4 total) three 100 watt solar panels, and a big inverter. It made a big difference in dry camping.
As the sun came out it brought back memories of past trips here and why we like it so much. You are right on the water and can hear the surf breaking even with the windows closed, you step out of the door right onto the sand, and will see seals, dolphins, and even whales very close to shore as they swim along the beach. Nothing beats a morning walk on the beach or an evening bonfire as the sun sets.
Right now the sun is setting and we have gone inside. I know that those of you in the NW are really getting a lot of snow right now and although a white Christmas would be really nice I don't think I want to swap locations with you at this moment.
I'm not sure how much I will be able to use the laptop, Internet, and have access to my blog so I will post a couple of pix of the new location since I have the opportunity right now.
Happy Holidays!
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